


The Monster

by jadencross



Series: Dark Voltron [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Also they're 5, Alternate Universe - Children, Blame the asleep me this was a dream, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, Hunk and Lance are twins, I promise, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Keith is 6, Kidnapping, Korean Keith (Voltron), Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Pidge is 7, Pidge | Katie Holt-centric, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Zarkon is horrible, and zarkon is a white asshole who locks kids in his basement so he does have to pay for a babysitter, his moms korean and dad is zarkon, lance will make keith laugh if he dies trying, shiro is suffering, well half korean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2018-09-15 19:04:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9251693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadencross/pseuds/jadencross
Summary: For as long as Pidge can remember, she's lived in Zarkon's house. His son, Keith, always comes in with bruises and contusions and even more wounds of the soul. She knows Zarkon isn't her dad, but she is too scared of the monster in the woods to ever try to escape.Zarkon is the lesser of two evils.Or: Jaden had a dream and immediately made a Voltron Au out of it lol.





	1. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so I had a dream that was pretty fucked up, but Shiro and Allura were in it so I was like "if I get rid of these two other children that didn't make sense anyway I'll have exactly enough kids to make it a Voltron au" and so I did. None of the people in the dream had a name except Shiro and Allura, and I wasn't supposed to know who any of the characters were, so I just put people where it would work best for stuff later. I'm supposed to be working on He Sleeps god damn it.
> 
> Okay so this is gonna be pretty intense. Lots of child abuse and fuckery happens. I will update the tags as I write it but for people who have had issues with child abuse this might be trigger central, so please make sure to check the tags.
> 
> I'm also going to try to make this three chapters, which means that the chapters might get crazy long. The wording and pacing might be weird but that's because I'm writing from the view point of a very un-socialized child. So just kinda expect that going in. 
> 
> My lovely friend Erin has once again beta'd for me, so I'd like to giver her a round of applause, but as always all mistakes are invariably mine. 
> 
> Anyways, here goes!

He was on the hunt again. 

Pidge sat on the ratty bed, gripping the book in her hands so hard her knuckles were white. She tried to focus on the book, trying to force her fingers not the wrinkle the new pages. Full color pictures of sharks covered the page and should have grabbed her attention. 

But they didn't. She could still hear him. 

She could hear him screaming. She could hear the slamming. She could hear glass breaking. She could hear furniture crash to the ground. She could still hear the slapping, and the punching, and the rage.

And worst of all, she could hear Keith screaming.

Pidge dropped the book, letting it fall onto the bed. She curled up on herself, pressing her knees into her face while her hands smashed against her ears. She tried to block it out, but she knew she never was going to be able to. 

The best she could do was not cry.

She knew Keith wasn't her real brother, just like she knew that Zarkon wasn't her dad and Nara wasn't her mom. But that didn't mean she still didn't feel like she needed to protect him. She was older, after all. Almost two years older. 

And yet Keith had to take the brunt of Zarkon's wrath.

Once again, Pidge found herself weighing her options. If she stayed, Zarkon wouldn't hurt her. If she stayed, she would have to listen to Keith suffering. If she stayed, she would have to watch Keith slowly fade away, just like his mom had.

But if she left...

Pidge shivered and curled up even more. Cold dread washed over her shoulders, and her heart squeezed even tighter in her chest and made it hard to breathe.

If she left, the monster would get her.

She still remembered it, even though a lot was fuzzy. She remembered the monster screaming, her mom crying and trying to defend her swollen stomach that held Pidge's future sibling. She remembered the monster punching her, blood oozing from her mom's nose and mixing with tears as she was slammed into the wall. The feeling as she ran out the door, her mother's hand reaching for her. The sticks and brambles that stabbed her feet as she ran through the woods, the screams of her mother left behind. 

Pidge tried to forget it, but it just kept coming back. She tried to forget the monster, but she couldn't. It was the reason she never left this place. It was the reason she never took Keith and ran. 

The monster outside was far worse than the monster in the house. 

A slam against the door startled Pidge. She hadn't noticed when the screaming had stopped, but she heard Keith's whimpering on the other side of the door. 

Zarkon's faint whispering could be heard through the hollow wood, but Pidge couldn't make out what he said. There was a pause, during which Keith's noises subsided. 

"You're sleeping with Pidge, tonight," Zarkon eventually ground out. Pidge held her breath as she heard his thundering steps retreating down the hall and up the stairs.

After a few moments of silence, the doorknob slowly turned. Pidge jumped to her feet as Keith collapsed inside the door. Blood gushed from under his bangs and cuts and fresh bruises littered his already darkened skin. She carefully propped him against her, hooking her arms under his armpits and dragging him as carefully as she could to the tattered beanbag at the base of her bed. 

When she got there, she carefully set him on the bag, and used her pillow to prop him up. She wished she could have set him on her bed, but he was too close to her in size for her to be able to without hurting him further. Pidge inspected Keith’s injuries, trying to look for what Nara told her to. Desperate longing filled Pidge as she grabbed the first aid kit from under the bed. 

Nara used to be the one who was hurt. Nara used to be the one who told Pidge how to use the various bandages that the first aid kit contained. Nara used to read Pidge and Keith books when Zarkon was on the hunt.

But Nara was gone.

And she had been for over a year.

Pidge fought to keep her tears from showing, knowing they’d only make Keith more scared. She dabbed the liquid she knew Nara had always used on her own cuts, and pressed a band-aid to where she thought the blood was coming from. Keith sniffed, and looked up at her with wide, tear-filled eyes as she wiped the blood from his face.

“Story?” 

His voice was weak, like he was afraid to speak at all. Pidge nodded, scrubbing gently at his face. When she finished she tucked the first-aid kit under the bed. She went back to the bed, grabbing her book on sharks and a blanket. It had been a recent gift, and Keith hadn’t seen it yet. 

She came back to his side, taking a spot next to him on the bag, moving slowly so that it wouldn’t hurt him. Once she had settled, Keith turned and pressed up against her side and leaned his head on her chest, shivering. Pidge put her arm around him, tucking the blanket around them both.

Pidge opened the book, starting at the first page even though she had been almost finished.

“‘The great, blue ocean is bigger than one would expect,’” she began, trying to keep her voice steady and calm, like Nara used to. “‘Even though humans have been to the moon, and have sent satellites past the edge of our solar system, no one has found the very bottom of the ocean.’”

“Really?” Keith asked, weak and shaky.

Pidge nodded. “They find new creatures all the time that we never knew about.”

“Wow,” Keith said, voice slightly stronger. Her twisted gently on her chest, purple eyes looking up at her. “Like what?”

“Like the anglerfish,” Pidge explained. “It has a light at the end of one of it’s antenna that attracts fish down at the bottom of the ocean where it’s really dark.”

Keith’s eyes widened. He twisted back to the book, getting comfy on her again.

Once he settled, she started again. “‘In this vast and mostly unexplored world, there are few animals as widely known as the shark. However, most people don’t know about the many different types of sharks. When most people think of sharks, they think of the Great White, but they are not the only species found in our planet’s waters…’”

Pidge continued reading, making her voice as calm as she could manage. When she finished the book, she expected Keith to ask for another story, but he was quiet. His steady breathing told Pidge he was asleep. She thought back to Nara’s many teachings, one of which was that she had to sleep when she was hurt.

Pidge shifted Keith’s hair, making sure she had put the bandaid on right, before grabbing a second blanket to use as her own pillow. She tried to move as little as possible so she wouldn’t wake him. 

Once she had the blanket, she shifted until she was comfortably curled up next to Keith. She took his hand in hers, and curled her fingers around his fist. She breathed deeply, before letting sleep wash her away.

* * *

 

A loud bang woke Pidge, and from the jump of Keith, he was startled awake, too. They both sat up as fast as possible, untangling the blankets as Zarkon burst through the door. Pidge noted that his eyes were red, and his hair was sticking up in many different places.

“Hey, sweet cheeks,” Zarkon smiled that sweet smile that made Pidge cringe inside. “It’s time for me to go to work.”

Zarkon turned to leave the room, and Pidge and Keith followed. When she noticed Keith limping, Pidge reached out her hand and took half his weight. Keith didn’t look up, but he squeezed her hand in thanks. They followed him down the hall into the back of the basement. There, he turned on his heel and opened the large wire dog cage in the corner of the room.

Pidge stepped carefully over the entrance, then turned and pulled Keith in after her. Once they were in, Zarkon shut the door and latched it, clicking the combination lock closed on the door before heading towards the stairs that led up to the rest of the house.

Pidge hated the cage.

Back when Nara was here, they didn’t need the cage at all. Nara would just watch them and keep them safe from the monster in the woods. But now, the cage was their only defence. Pidge thought the cage would only keep them trapped, but Zarkon assured her that it was to keep the monster out, not keep them in. Pidge had asked if they could just have someone else look after them, but Zarkon had only shook his head.

“Everyone’s too scared, after what happened,” he had said. “No one wants to stand up to the monster after the way it hurt Nara. No one except me, but I have to make enough money to keep you safe.”

The cage would have to do.

Keith poked her side gently.

Pidge was startled out of her thoughts. Keith winced as she jumped. Pidge turned to him, smiling in the hopes of making him feel better. Keith watched her for a second before pointing at the book just outside the cage. Pidge looked over to see his favorite book lying just where they had left it yesterday. She crawled over the padded floor, reaching her hand through the cage to grab it. She bent it into a c-shape to fit it through the bars, before scooting back over to Keith.

She folded her legs under her and leaned back, inviting Keith to lean back into her lap and rest his head. She held up the book in front of them both, displaying the cover. 

_ Voltron: Zarkon’s Defeat _ read the cover, not that Pidge had to read the words to know that. Nara had read it to her and Keith so many times that she practically had it memorized. It was the monster in this book that she had named Zarkon after. It made him feel more distant. Calling him “Dad” felt bitter on her tongue, and she only said it when he was present. She pitied Keith, who had to talk to Zarkon more than she ever did.

Clearing her throat, Pidge began. She tried to do the voices of the paladins just like Nara had, slipping into a drawl when the Blue Paladin spoke and a high-pitched accent when the Princess did. Once again, they let the story of the five human pilots who went on to defeat the worst monster in the universe wash over them. Pidge’s favorite character was the Green Paladin, and she knew Keith’s was the Red Lion. She never understood how Keith’s favorite character was one of the ships, but she never called him on it.

After she finished it the first time, Keith asked her to read the story again. Pidge did, and then he asked for a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth. Pidge was sure Keith had memorized the book just like she had, but he kept asking her to reread it.

Eventually, Pidge lost track of how many times she had read it. When she finished again, she waited for Keith to ask her to read once more. However, he was silent. Pidge glanced down, noting that his eyes were open and he was blinking.

A long moment passed, neither of them moving, before Keith shifted to look up at her. He looked at her for another long moment before speaking.

“I want to go outside again.”

Pidge stopped, fear filling her. She looked up at the lock on the cage. She had figured out long ago what the combination was by watching Zarkon open it when he got back from work. She had broken them out before when Keith was bleeding heavily, or if they were hungry or tired, but she had never let him go outside. 

Before Nara had left, they used to go outside a lot. Nara had sworn them to secrecy, saying that if Zarkon ever found out they’d never get to go outside again. They had agreed.

Pidge wanted to go outside, too. She missed the breeze, and the how the sunlight felt on her arms, and how the grass felt under her feet. But no one would be there to protect them from the monster.

“I’ll protect you,” Keith said quietly.

Pidge looked down, seeing the earnesty in his eyes.

“I promise.”

Pidge watched him for another second before gesturing for him to stand. Once he was off her lap, Pidge stood and walked to the lock. She turned the knob until it clicked open. She removed it from the cage, then opened the door. 

She helped Keith out of the cage and up the stairs. Once there, she grabbed them both a cup of water, before hiding it away in the dishwasher where Zarkon wouldn’t notice it. She then helped Keith over to the door. She watched out the glass, looking for any signs of movement in the trees.

Zarkon’s house was completely surrounded by trees, the only break in the leaves and bushes were for the driveway to get through. Zarkon had assured her that there were only more trees past the driveway. Pidge shivered, squeezing Keith’s hand in her own before turning the knob, and opening the door.

A fresh burst of air ripped the door from her hands, and she winced at the sound of the door slamming open. Keith reached to grab the door and pulled it shut as he pulled her out the door.

The bricks outside the back door were hot from the sun, and Pidge pushed Keith to get off of them so they wouldn’t burn their feet. The grass was slightly damp, and Pidge remembered that Zarkon had sprinklers set to go off during the morning. If the grass was still wet, then they still had many hours before he would be back. 

The wind brought scents Pidge could barely remember and couldn’t identify. Keith plopped down in the grass, a smile on his face as he felt the sun on his skin. Pidge laughed. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed about being outside. She plopped down right next to Keith and lay back, putting her arms behind her head to form a pillow out of her hands. 

She let the wind just roll over her, causing her dress to flutter in the wind and her skin to become almost uncomfortably warm. She closed her eyes against the bright sun, a smile spreading over her face. 

She really had missed this.

“I told you we wouldn’t die, Hunk.”

Pidge bolted upright, her head swirling with how fast she sat up. Keith was much slower than her, the bruises most likely giving him grief.

Pidge scrambled to her feet, pulling Keith to his as she saw two figures enter Zarkon’s backyard through the leaves. Keith leaned heavily on her, but moved to stand in front of Pidge.

Pidge stopped cold when her panicked brain finally registered two boys, their skin darker than any she could remember seeing and smiles on their faces. They were smaller than Keith, at least in height. One was skinny, almost like a walking stick. The other was larger, and reminded Pidge of how pudgy Keith had been on his first birthday. 

The skinny one had a huge smile on his face, laughing louder than Pidge thought possible. The pudgy one looked worried, his eyes wide and searching. Eventually, they landed on Pidge’s frozen body, and they widened even more, though Pidge wasn’t quite sure how.

“Lance.” The pudgy one lifted a shaking finger, pointing at Pidge and Keith. “Who are they?”

Lance (or at least, Pidge figured that’s what the skinny one’s name was) turned to follow Hunk’s finger, and he saw the two siblings. Lance’s smile morphed into an expression Pidge couldn’t decipher. 

“They must be neighbors,” Lace said slowly. “But I’ve never seen them before.” There was a pause before his smile came back. He turned to the other one. “Let’s go meet them!”

“Oh no,” the pudgy one grabbed Lance’s wrist. “Don’t you remember what Mom and Dad always say? ‘Stranger danger.’”

Lance rolled his eyes. “It’s two on two, Hunk. Plus, they’re kids like us. Now, let’s go say hi.”

Keith tensed as the two came closer. Pidge could feel her body slowly becoming unstuck. They weren’t the monster. Not even close.

Not that Keith knew that.

As Lance and Hunk came closer, Lance’s expression changed again. His eyebrows bunched closer, and his eyes widened. Slowly, Pidge recognized it as the same face Nara had made the first time Zarkon had hit Keith. 

It was worry.

“Hey, are you guys okay?” Lance said. He sped up, going from a walk to a run as he came up to them.

Keith crouched slightly, as if he was going to attack, but Pidge put her hand on his shoulder. It wasn’t like he could do anything when he was this hurt anyway.

Lance stopped in front of them, cocking his head to the side as he examined Keith. His eyes scanned over Keith’s frame, taking in the bruises and cuts that littered his skin. His eyes flit over Pidge’s face, taking in her expression before taking a small step back.

“What happened to you guys?” Lance asked. 

Pidge was frozen for another second before she found her voice.

“Nothing,” she croaked out. 

Lance cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, right.” 

Hunk came up beside Lance, though Pidge was surprised to see him hiding behind Lance. It occurred to her that Hunk might be scared, just like she and Keith were, though she wasn’t sure why. Was Lance scared? He didn’t look it.

Lance stuck his hand out, palm perpendicular to the ground and his fingers extended. Keith and Pidge stared at it, glancing up at Lance to try to gauge what he was going for.

Lance’s eyebrows fell, and so did his smile.

“You’re supposed to shake my hand,” Lance said, voice flat.

“But it’s your hand.” Pidge was incredibly confused. “If you want to shake it can’t you do that on your own?”

Lance stared at her. 

“Have you never shaken someone’s hand before?”

Pidge shook her head. 

Lance crossed his arms. “Well we need to fix that. If you haven’t shaken hands, who knows what else you’re missing!” Lance threw his arms up at the last word, causing Keith to flinch. Lance saw the movement, and slowly lowered his arms, watching Keith’s reaction. When his arms were at his side he stopped for a second, then smiled again. 

“I’m Lance!” His loud voice caused Pidge and Keith to flinch again, and he lowered the volume. “This is my twin brother, Hunk.” Lance stuck his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Hunk.

“Hi,” Hunk said softly, ducking out from behind his brother just enough to flash a smile before hiding again.

“What are your names?” Lance watched Pidge’s face, clearly understanding that Keith wasn’t going to be talking. 

Pidge paused, wondering what to do. Zarkon had told her the monster had many spies, but he had never mentioned other kids when he described them before. Should she trust them? 

She thought back to the look of worry of Lance’s face. Only Keith and Nara had ever given her that face. Zarkon surely never had. Pidge decided. 

Only people who weren’t monsters could be worried.

“I’m Pidge,” she said finally. “This is Keith.”

“Is he your brother?” Lance glanced between the two.

“No.”

Lance waiting for an explanation, but just shrugged when none came. 

“So, what’s your favorite TV show?” Lance said, excitedly.

Pidge had no idea what a TV was.

* * *

 

Pidge glanced up at the sky, gauging how much longer they could stay. It was after noon, but the sun still hadn’t touched the trees, which was always Nara’s signal to head inside.

She glanced back down in just enough time to see Lance only a few steps from her, his hand extended. Pidge didn’t have time to move before Lance lightly tapped her shoulder and ran off, yelling “Tag!” as he went laughing along.

Pidge grit her teeth, then spun and ran after him. She was determined to get him back. Lance glanced over his shoulder just in time to see her tap him before he stopped.

“No, you’re not playing right,” Lance shook his head. “You can’t tag the person who tagged you. You have to tag someone else.”

Pidge furrowed her brow. “That makes no sense.”

“It’s so that you do just tag back the tagger,” Lance explained. “If we have the no tag backs rule, then it’s not just two people playing while the others watch.”

Pidge paused, thinking. “Did you guys really come up with this game?”

Lance puffed out his chest, placing his hands on his hips. “Yes,” he said in a confident tone.

“Didn’t Sarah teach you how to play tag last year?” Hunk spoke up from a far enough distance away that he was in no danger of being tagged.

Lance’s face went pink, and he spun towards Hunk. “No!” Lance screeched.

Pidge wasn’t sure which to believe. 

Hunk rolled his eyes. “I think Keith’s tired. We should pick another game.”

Lance looked at Keith, who was now laying on the ground near the patio, panting. Pidge watched as that expression of worry took it’s place again. Lance stepped towards Keith, making sure to make lots of noise. Pidge followed so that she could intervene if Lance did something wrong.

Keith cracked an eye at them as they approached, closing it again when he saw who was coming. Lance squatted next to him, head cocked and eyes searching. Pidge wondered if that’s how she looked when she patched Keith up.

“What happened to you?” Lance asked again.

Keith didn’t move, just huffed a little. Lance gingerly put his hand on Keith’s chest, fingers pulling up the bottom of Keith’s shirt. Keith’s eyes shot open, an expression of fear in his eyes and hands coming up to defend himself. 

Lance jumped back, putting as much distance between himself and Keith. He tucked his hands under his butt and made himself seem small. 

Hunk came running up, as if he was worried Keith would attack Lance. But Keith just stared at Lance, propped up with his elbows behind him. Lance stared back, watching Keith. Hunk seemed to be doing the same. Pidge wondered what was going on.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Lance said. Pidge could hear an earnest tone she had only heard from Keith before. Lance slowly sat up, not breaking eye contact with Keith.

“Does it hurt when I touch you?” Lance asked. 

Keith stared for a second before shaking his head slightly. Lance cocked his own.

“Does it hurt when I move your clothes?”

Keith again shook his head.

“Then why did you jump?”

Keith stopped, watching Lance again. Then, slowly, he lowered his eyes.

“You scared me.”

Keith’s voice was quiet, almost too quiet to be heard. But Lance heard.

“Does it scare you when I touch you?”

Keith nodded.

“Okay,” Lance said, coming scooting closer across the grass. “Then I won’t touch you anymore. Not unless you say so. Mom said that’s the nice thing to do.”

Keith looked up, the surprise in his eyes echoing Pidge’s. They looked at each other, silently understanding.

Lance and Hunk couldn’t be spies for the monster. There was no way that spies would offer something not even Nara had.

And they had made it safely through the woods.

* * *

 

It had been a while before Lance started talking again. Pidge was amazed at all the things he told them about. She was most excited to hear that there were more books about the adventures of Team Voltron. 

“Yeah,” Lance said excitedly, “and there’s a TV show, too!”

“Really?” Pidge asked, mind blown. They could see the adventures of Team Voltron for real?

“Totally!” Lance grinned. “Hunk and I watch it all the time, right Hunk?”

“Yep!” Hunk smiled. “It’s super cool to see the Yellow Paladin using his gun to shoot all sorts of things! And he protects so many people!”

“The Blue Paladin shoots things, too!” Lance put in. “But he’s more accurate and also cooler.”

“No,” Hunk shook his head, “the Yellow Paladin is cooler.” He turned to Pidge. “Tell him, Pidge.”

“I like the Green Paladin,” she said.

“What?!” Lance cried. “But her bayard is so tiny!”

Pidge blinked. “I just like her.”

“What about you Keith?” Hunk asked. 

Keith just shrugged.

“His favorite is the Red Lion,” Pidge said. Keith’s head whipped up, and he glared at Pidge.

“The lion?” Lance rubbed his chin. “But like, the lion doesn’t get to kiss girls and stuff. Why do you like her?”

Keith shrugged again. Lance stared at his back until Keith grew uncomfortable and shifted closer to Pidge. She looked down at him, before checking the trees again.

The sun was almost touching.

“We need to go inside, now,” Pidge said, getting to her feet. Keith gave her a look of betrayal, but came to stand beside her.

Lance looked at her, cocking his head again. She wondered why he did that. “Why?”

Pidge pointed to the trees. “Zarkon will be home before too long. He doesn’t like us being outside.”

“Zarkon?” Hunk asked. “Like, from the story?”

Pidge nodded. 

“Is that is name?” Lance asked.

Pidge shook her head. 

“When why do you call him that?”

“Because he’s horrible.”

Lance and Hunk exchanged a look. 

“Why don’t you run away?” Lance asked.

“Because of the monster in the woods.” Pidge pointed towards the leaves across the yard.

“Monster?” Lance asked. “There’s no monster.”

“There is,” Pidge said. “I’ve seen him. He attacked my mom and I when I was little. He used to be my Dad, but then evil took him over. Zarkon said he went to try to save my Mom, but she was already gone by the time he got there. That’s why I live here now.”

Lance cocked an eyebrow at that. “There’s no monster, really. We got here through the woods, and we didn’t see anything except other houses.”

“I used to live in one of those,” Pidge explained. “But then the monster chased me away. Zarkon is a monster, too, but he’s not as bad as the monster in the woods.”

“Then why do you stay with Zarkon if he’s a monster, too?” Hunk asked.

“Because monsters can scare other monsters away.” Pidge said matter-of-factly. 

Lance and Hunk exchanged another look. 

“Why don’t you come live with us, then?” Lance asked. “Our Mom and Dad aren’t monsters. They’re good and buy us ice cream and let us watch TV. That way, you don’t have to worry about Zarkon or the monster.”

Pidge shook her head. “Zarkon says that since the monster already got my family, then he’s on the hunt for me to complete the set. I don’t want to bring the monster to your family.”

“So you’re just going to stay here forever?” Hunk asked, rising to his feet. Lance followed. 

“Yes,” Pidge said. “Now Keith and I need to go inside.”

She turned and pulled Keith along by the hand. She opened the door and helped Keith up the steps. When she turned around to shut the door, she saw Lance and Hunk hadn’t moved, and were both looking at her with that worried look.

Pidge locked the back door and turned on her heel, ignoring Keith’s grunts of protest.

She was starting to hate that look. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize to anyone who wants to protect these characters I'm so sorry.
> 
> Okay so idk when I'll update this. My first priority is He Sleeps, and my second is this other dark story that I'm writing for both a pun and to vent, and then this. I'll probably actually finish writing this one before I finish He Sleeps just because I need to, and then the one shot will be written after that. 
> 
> Y'all this is only the beginning. The next two chapters are going to absolutely break your hearts.
> 
> See you next chapter!


	2. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! This update schedule is almost as fast as the first three chapters of He Sleeps, lol. I posted three chapters in 24 hours, and probably would have done the same here except I had a dentist appointment. Screw dental hygiene, I want to write!
> 
> Yeah, so it only gets worse from here. I got one more chapter that I'm writing backwards, and then this story is done. Shortest chaptered fic I've ever written, lol. Well, finished chaptered fic, at least.
> 
> Many thanks to Erin for once again proofing this. Apparently when I text her to ask her she literally sprinted upstairs to get to her computer without telling her family why. She really likes this story. I'm sure you guys will as well.
> 
> Well, here goes!

“He keeps you in a dog cage?” 

Pidge nodded, knowing that Lance and Hunk were exchanging glances over her shoulder.

“Isn’t a dog cage for, you know, dogs?” Hunk asked.

Pidge shrugged, standing to admire her flower crown. “Yeah, I guess. But since Nara left, it’s our best line of defense against the monster while Zarkon’s away.”

She walked over to Keith, ignoring what she was sure was another traded look in favor of placing the crown on Keith’s head. Keith jumped, not expecting it, then glanced at her before sneezing. 

“Don’t you guys just go to school?” Hunk asked.

Pidge cocked her head. “What’s school?”

Another look. Why had she cocked her head? It was the same thing Lance and Hunk did. But why did  _ she  _ do it?

“You really don’t know what school is?” Lance asked. There it was again, the look of worry.

“No.” Pidge removed the crown from Keith’s head after she noticed it coming apart. Clearly she hadn’t done as well as expected. Keith glared at her for taking away his crown, but he couldn’t make one for himself. Last night Zarkon had burned his hands, so Pidge had promised to make him one.

Lance watched Keith’s face, before crawling over to his side. “Here you go,” he said gently. “I’m sure you’d make even better flower crowns than Pidge. We’ll have to teach you when your hands get better.”

“I can make him one!” Pidge huffed.

Lance rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you can, but it won’t last for shit.” 

“Lance!” Hunk swatted at his brother. “Mom said that’s a bad word!”

“Dad used it, though!”

“Yeah, and Mom had him rinse his mouth after.” Hunk crossed his arms.

“What’s so bad about the word ‘shit?’” Pidge asked. “Zarkon uses it all the time.”

“Yeah but when does he use it?”

Pidge thought for a moment. “When he’s mad.”

“Mom said you only use the S Word if you’re upset and no other word will do,” Hunk said. 

“Anyway,” Lance interjected, “my point is that my flower crown will last longer. It’s a crown fit for a king, but yours isn’t good enough for a court jester.”

Pidge puffed her cheeks at that.

“He means you haven’t practiced enough yet,” Hunk said. “I’m sure you’ll get just as good as us after you practice.”

“I just want to make sure Keith has the proper attire to wear since he’s the one fighting all the battles,” Lance said.

“What do you mean fighting all the battles?”

Lance looked between the two of them, clearly expecting Pidge to connect dots she didn’t see. Lance sighed. “I mean, he’s really hurt. Like, he can’t make flower crowns, hurt. So I think he deserves the best crown.” Lance pointed to the flowers that sat upon the other boy’s head. “See? I used the best dandelions for his. Now I have to make my own out of the browner ones.”

Keith’s cheeks turned pink again, and he ducked into his arms. Pidge huffed, trying to remove the crown, but Keith batted her hand away. Keith locked eyes with her as if he was trying to tell her something, but she wasn’t quite sure what. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come stay with us?” Hunk asked. 

Pidge and Keith both jumped at the question. 

Hunk twisted his flowers between his fingers, watching the juices drip over his skin as his mouth worked but no sound came out.

“If you came to live with us, you’d be able to make flower crowns anytime there were dandelions outside,” Lance said, backing up his brother. “I’m sure Mom and Dad wouldn’t mind you taking my sister’s room. They seem so sad when they see it anyway. I think it reminds them that she’s gone.”

Keith perked up at that, and Pidge looked down to see Keith’s eyes trained on her. They looked like he was pleading, but Pidge wasn’t going to buy it. 

“No,” she said. “The monster will get us if we go through the woods.”

“Come on!” Lance jumped to his feet, his mouth wide and eyebrows lowered. “We’ve been through the woods so many times! There’s no monster!”

“There is a monster,” Pidge said. “He’s just not looking for you.”

“Maybe he’s not looking for you, either.”

Pidge stopped. “What do you mean?”

“How long ago did the monster hurt your mom?” Lance asked.

Pidge thought. “Keith was about one, so five years ago?”

“Five years is a long time!” Lance exclaimed. “Hunk and I are five years old! That’s our whole lives!  The monster can’t still be waiting for you here. Maybe the monster is looking for you somewhere else?”

Pidge shook her head. “Even if he was, once I stepped in the woods he would smell me. Zarkon told me so. And he said that if I ever left, that he wouldn’t protect me or Keith from the monster anymore.”

Lance stopped at that. He stared at her, his gaze feeling a little deeper than most people’s were. Pidge felt like she needed to cover something.

“Do you ever wonder if maybe Zarkon’s lying to you?”

The words hit Pidge like a slap across the face. She reeled back, planting her feet and feeling something boiling in her stomach.

“Zarkon wouldn’t lie!” 

Lance cocked an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t he?”

“Because…” Pidge thought desperately. “Because he wouldn’t!”

“Is he the only grown up you ever talk to?” Hunk asked.

“No!” Pidge yelled, then felt like she had to fix it. “I mean, not since Nara left.”

Hunk and Lance exchanged a look again. It was becoming annoying. 

“Grown ups can lie,” Lance said, his voice soft for some reason. Like he was comforting her. Why? She wasn’t upset.

“But Zarkon wouldn’t.” Pidge narrowed her eyes. 

Lance stared at her again. Pidge stared back, trying to make it a challenge. But she couldn’t read whatever Lance was, because he sighed. He stood, wiping the grass from his knees.

“We need to get back,” Lance said slowly. “Uncle Coran is picking us up before too long to go to the amusement park. And we need to get back before Mom starts looking for us. She doesn’t like us being in the woods.”

Lance turned, watching them for a second longer before he started off for the woods. 

Hunk glanced between Pidge and Lance before standing, too. “If you ever get in trouble, Mom and Dad can help. Dad was in the military, and even though he’s only got one arm, he can still take on any monster. And Mom’s just scary in general.”

Pidge glared at him.

Hunk twiddled his thumbs a little bit before continuing. “If you go in a straight line from that door into the woods, you’ll hit our house.” Hunk watched her for another moment before turning and following Lance, running to catch up to his brother who was already slipping between the leaves.

Pidge watched him go, ignoring the longing in Keith’s eyes.

* * *

 

After Pidge had clicked the lock shut, she could feel Keith staring at her. She knew that Keith was going to ask her if he could go again. He had been every day after they played with Lance and Hunk.

She turned, sitting back against the wire and waited. Keith didn't blink, just stared with an odd twinkling in his eyes. Pidge had never seen it before.

"Are you sure we can't go with Lance and Hunk?" Keith asked softly.

Pidge shook her head. "The monster will get us."

Keith looked down, his knees drawn up to his chest. "But do you think that he'll hurt you if  _ I _ get help?"

"What do you mean?" Pidge asked. 

"What if  _ I  _ went through the woods and got Lance and Hunk's parents to come save you?"

Pidge furrowed her brow. "If you left, the monster would get you, remember? Zarkon said that since you've always lived with me, then you smell like me, too." 

Keith pulled his arms tighter around his body. Pidge crawled over to where Keith lay and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. 

"I just don't want you to get hurt because you smell like me," Pidge said.

"And I don't want you to get hurt because Zarkon gets angry," Keith said quietly.

"Zarkon promised he'd never hurt me," Pidge said. "And he never has."

"But he promised he wouldn't hurt Mom, either." Keith's voice was almost completely gone. 

Pidge perked up at that. "Why do you say that?"

Keith looked up at her, his eyes filled with tears. "Mom told me," he said. "She said that when she was in love with Zarkon, he promised he'd never hurt her."

"How do you know that?" Pidge asked.

"Mom told me, when I was scared," Keith said, leaning into Pidge's side. "You were in the basement, and Zarkon had left. She told me that he had sworn he would never hurt her. And then after he broke that promise, he swore not to hurt me." Keith looked up at her again.

"Maybe he's lying about other things, too."

"No." Pidge pushed away. She winced when she noticed Keith almost fall, but she didn't close the gap between them. "Zarkon is still better. Even if he breaks promises."

"How?" Keith was shivering now.

"Because at least Zarkon hasn't killed anyone yet."

Keith stared at her, his eyes shining in the way Lance's did.

"He killed my mom."

"No." Pidge said, angrily turning her back to him.

"The monster did."

* * *

 

When Zarkon came home, he was angry. 

Pidge wasn't sure why, but he entered the house with a slam. She winced, and saw the terror in Keith's eyes, but she didn't close the distance to comfort him. 

There was yelling, and the sound of cabinets slamming. There was the sound of water running, and Pidge realized that he was drinking.

Already.

Pidge jumped up, grabbing Keith in her arms and pulling him to the back of the cage. If Zarkon had already gone for the cans he kept in the fridge, then Keith was going to have one of the worst nights he'd ever had. Even though she was mad at Keith, she knew that he was still too hurt from last night to withstand it.

She turned her back to the door of the cage, tucking Keith between her and the wire. Keith was shaking, and she began humming in his ear. 

Hopefully, Zarkon would forget that he had two children trapped in the basement. Hopefully, he would get too drunk to be able to open the cage. 

They waited like that, the screaming and stomping and slamming drowning out the ticking of the clock that was above them on the wall. 

Pidge wanted to take Keith and run. She wanted to leave, to put distance between the two of them and the horrible monster screaming upstairs.

But there was nowhere to go.

The monster inside threatened pain, and hurt, and death. But the monster outside guaranteed it. 

Keith was shaking harder now, so Pidge tried to sing the song that Nara always used to sing when they were scared. She started, trying to keep her voice low, and sung into Keith's ear. He seemed to calm down, if only slightly. 

Suddenly the door to the basement slammed open. Keith and Pidge both jumped, and Keith started shaking so much Pidge didn't think he would be able to stand, much less run to escape. 

Not that it would have mattered, anyway. 

Zarkon stomped down the stairs, his eyes practically glowing with anger, and a can in his hand. When he reached the bottom, he chugged the can before crushing it and throwing it on the floor. He stomped over to the cage, fumbling with the lock before it clicked open. 

Keith was practically vibrating now, and Pidge gripped onto the wire with her fingers.

Zarkon reached in and ripped her from the cage with barely a pull. Pidge bit her lip as her fingers were wrenched from the cage, feeling Keith's grip on her shirt slipping.

Keith cried out, the burns on his hands probably hurting him even more. Zarkon pulled Pidge from the cage before grabbing Keith in his other hand. Keith sobbed as Zarkon dragged them both up the stairs by the backs of their shirts. 

Once they were at the top, he threw them both on the tile before slamming the door shut again. Keith curled into a ball, tears filling his eyes while Pidge scrambled to cover him. Zarkon stomped over to the fridge and grabbed another can, cracking the top and taking a swig before advancing on Pidge and Keith like an animal.

Pidge squeaked, pushing Keith further behind her. She had never been in the room when Zarkon went crazy. She had never seen him at his angriest. She would only see Nara kicking as she was dragged by her hair out of the room or Keith's whimpering as Zarkon threw him against a wall before stomping out.

She had never faced the monster before. But she did now. She stood between the two, steeling herself.

Keith was too hurt. He wouldn't survive. 

But Pidge would.

Zarkon stared at her. "Get out of the way."

"No," Pidge said. "You'll kill him."

Zarkon starred a second longer before grabbing Pidge's arm. His grip caused Pidge to scream. Zarkon picked her up, wrenching her arm in a way that made Pidge feel like it was going to break. 

"Fine," Zarkon growled. "Then our deal is off."

Pidge's eyes widened as Zarkon's face twisted. He lifted her slightly higher before throwing her across the room. 

Pidge slammed into the wall, feeling the breath leave her body while her back felt like it was breaking. She fell to the ground, the cold tile a slap to her face and a picture frame falling onto her already sore back. Pidge lay there, trying to get back up as she saw Zarkon take another drink. He took two steps and was suddenly next to her, and kicked her hard in the side.

Pidge coughed, feeling something in her crack with the force as Zarkon gripped her by the hair and lifted her up. Pidge tried to scream but she didn't have the air yet. Zarkon pulled her to her feet before gripping his hand around her neck.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time, bitch," Zarkon growled. 

Over his shoulder, Pidge could see Keith. He had come to rest on his hands and knees, staring at her with terrified eyes. In the few seconds she had, she watched him look between her and the door before shakily getting to his feet 

Zarkon lifted Pidge off the ground, his hand clamping down on her throat and making it impossible to breathe. Then he let go, and Pidge slammed into the ground again. 

On the floor, she coughed and gasped, trying to replace her missing air. Through her blurry vision she looked for Keith, but she couldn't find him. She looked around, but her fear doubled when she saw the backdoor hanging open.

_ No _ , she tried to say, but no words would come out. Zarkon lifted her again, but Pidge wasn't scared of him anymore.

The monster was going to kill Keith.

* * *

 

With a sigh, Allura sank into the couch, slouching sideways to lean on Shiro. Her feet were tired, and her body felt like she had scrubbed the whole house. Then again, she had.

It wasn't often that her boys weren't home. After her father had died, the only family close enough to watch them was her Uncle Coran. Unfortunately, he was the CEO of a large company and was always busy. Shiro and Allura never hired a babysitter if they didn't need to, and Allura worked at the school, so she never had to worry about if the boys had snow days or summer break.

However, Coran had managed to get a week off of work, and he promised to spend most of it with the boys, at Lance's begging. Today was Coran's first day off, and he had just picked the boys up to go to the amusement park. Allura wished him luck.

It was almost impossible to clean when the boys were home, so Allura had spent the last two hours scrubbing every nook and cranny of the house. Shiro had come home about an hour ago and offered to help, but Allura had told him to rest. After all, one of them needed to be prepared for when Coran brought the boys home hyped up on as much cotton candy as he could buy. 

Shiro chuckled, warm and deep his chest and brought his arm around her to hug her closer. Allura let herself be pulled, and smiled when she felt him kiss her hair.

"I could have helped, you know," Shiro said, his voice light. 

"Yes," Allura replied, "but I wanted  _ you _ to be the one that has to deal with the boys."

Shiro hummed. She felt him shift to look back the the TV, resting his cheek in the top of her head. "What do you wanna watch then, miss cleaner?"

Allura glanced up to see that Shiro hadn't changed the channel from where the boys had set it last. She watched for a moment, seeing the otter talk to his sister about eating urchins. It had always bothered her that the sister didn't have to wear a scuba diving outfit while he did.

"Why were you watching the Octonauts?" Allura asked.

She felt Shiro shrug. "Lance and Hunk like it and I hadn't seen it in a while. Plus, I had already sat down and the remote wasn't in reach."

Allura pushed against him playfully, a smile on her face. She sat up, looking him in the eyes. "You couldn't even lean over to grab the remote from the end of the couch?"

Shiro smirked. "Not when my beautiful wife told me to rest for the oncoming sugar rush." He accented the jest with a kiss to her temple.

Allura rolled her eyes playfully, shifting to grab the remote from the end table behind her. She brought it up, and pointed it at the TV. 

"What do you wanna watch?"

"I asked you first," Shiro said.

"I have no opinion at the moment," Allura replied. 

"Maybe a romantic comedy?" Shiro said. "I haven't seen one of those in  _ years _ ."

"Any specific one in mind?" Allura pulled up the DVR, noting that he had recorded quite a few movies the past few weeks. He must have been planning to relax during Coran’s time off, too.

A desperate slamming against the back door drew their attention away from the TV. Allura looked worriedly at Shiro before getting to her feet, feeling him at her back the whole way. She quickly stepped to the door and opened it, before stopping with a gasp.

Before them stood a young boy, his raven hair matted and eyes wet with tears. Burns lined his arms and hands, purple and yellow bruises marking almost every visible inch of his skin. He had no shoes, and his t-shirt and shorts were faded and ratty. She could see dried blood in his hair.

Allura immediately dropped to her knees, looking him in the eyes. Her heart had clenched and she found herself in Mother Mode, not letting the emotions of seeing a boy so similar to her own looking like this keep her from doing what was necessary. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked in her gentlest voice. 

The boy sobbed, reaching out to her with his burned hands. Allura let him take hers and he began pulling.

“Please,” Allura pulled back slightly, slipping on her shoes she kept at the door and knowing Shiro was doing the same, “tell me what’s wrong. We can’t help if we don’t know.”

The boy stopped pulling and looked up at her, tears now dripping from her chin. “Pidge. He’s hurting her.”

“Who’s hurting her?” Shiro asked behind her.

The boy glanced up at him. “Zarkon.”

The two stopped. Zarkon was the name of the villain on that TV show Lance and Hunk watched, wasn’t it? Why would he —

Allura suddenly bolted upright. This was the boy Lance told her about. Pidge was the girl he lived with. She remembered how worried Lance had been when he talked about the two children he had met only a week ago. And then she remembered what he’d described them talking about. 

Oh god, they had to  _ go _ .

Allura scooped up the boy, sorrow filling her heart when she saw the scared look in his eyes. 

“Show us where you live,” Allura said, trying to keep her voice soothing. “I’ll carry you so we can go faster.”

The boy thought about it for a second before pointing into the woods. Allura took off, the steady presence of Shiro at her side. She tried to keep the branches and thorns from hurting the boy, but she ran as fast as she could.

Soon, they broke out of the trees, and Allura saw a house she’d never seen before with it’s backdoor ajar before them. Inside they could hear a man yelling and the sobbing of a child. 

Shiro took the lead as they sprinted for the door.

* * *

 

It hurt. It hurt so much Pidge felt like she was dying.

Is this how Keith always felt? Is this how bad Keith always was?

The thought made Pidge want to cry even more. 

Zarkon was gripping her shirt again, but Pidge had long since stopped fighting. She didn’t understand how one person could be full of so much anger.

Another slap across the face, and she could hardly feel it. It was like her body was going numb. Why was—

Suddenly, the back door slammed open. Pidge could hardly raise her eyes to see a man with one arm and a woman holding Keith in the doorway. The man pushed forward, and said something to Zarkon. Pidge couldn’t understand what it was, but Zarkon dropped her. The woman rushed forward, scooping Pidge up and taking them both deeper into the house away from the men. 

Pidge blinked as the woman said something to her. The woman tried again, but Pidge just couldn’t understand. She was dizzy. 

The woman’s eyes took on the same shine Lance’s did when he was worried, and she looked around. Suddenly Pidge was aware of Keith holding her hand and pointing towards something on the counter. The woman grabbed it and came back quickly. She dialed something before pressing it to her ear. 

Oh. It was the phone.

The woman started talking while Pidge slowly starting coming back to the world. She was panting, and scared, but she felt Keith’s fingers running through her hair. Pidge let him do it until she remembered his burns and grabbed his wrist, telling him to stop or he’ll hurt himself. 

“Can you hear me?” The woman’s voice finally made sense to Pidge.

Pidge nodded, trying to sit up. The woman’s hand gently slid under her back and propped her up against the cabinet, her eyes glittering as she looked at Pidge.

This woman was familiar. Pidge didn’t know why. But this hand, she’d felt it before. Those eyes, she’d seen before. When?

Keith grabbed her hand, sitting next to her on the tile while the woman’s long white hair shone in the late light that came through the window. Pidge had seen that before, too.

“Can you move your arms?” the woman asked. 

Pidge was confused, but she moved them. It hurt, but she could. The woman asked her to move her legs, and her fingers, and her head. Pidge did. 

The woman brought her other hand up, gently stroking Pidge’s face with long, warm fingers. They traced gentle circles into her skin, and Pidge felt warmth and comfort flood her. 

She knew this woman. But how?

“Help is on the way, okay?” the woman said. The man from the door came to sit next to her, breathing heavily. 

Pidge stiffened. She knew him, too.

The woman reached over and gently ran her fingers through Keith’s hair, not pausing rubbing Pidge. Tear tracks ran down Keith’s face, and she extended her thumb to wipe them away. 

“You’ll be okay, baby. I promise.”

Recognition jolted through Pidge. She had heard this woman say that to her before. She sat up, ignoring the pain and the surprised look on the woman’s face as she withdrew her hand. Pidge stared at her, feeling the pieces connect. And finally, she had it.

“Mom?”

The woman stopped, her breath hitching and eyes latching onto Pidge’s like her life depended on it. There was a stillness in the air, and the man beside her completely froze. The woman glanced at him, before looking back at Pidge.

“Katie?”

Suddenly memories were swirling. She remembered her mom’s laugh, and the long train of her white hair as it dipped down into the bed. She remembered laughing was watching movies and playing in puddles. She remembered her mom’s eyes and her face and her  _ smile _ .

Tears began to fall from her mom’s face as she watched Pidge. “Katie. Oh my god,  _ Katie _ .” Her voice was soft and quiet, and reminded Pidge of her lullabies. 

“Mom,” Pidge—or was she Katie?—grabbed her mom’s hand. Her mom sweeped her up into a hug. Pidge heard her heartbeat, and tears welled up in her own eyes as she listened, though she didn’t know why. “You’re alive,” Pidge breathed.

Her mom stopped, gently tugging Pidge off of her and looking into her eyes. 

“Why does it surprise you that I’m alive?” Her mom’s tone had become harder, but Pidge couldn’t understand why.

“Zarkon said the monster got you,” Pidge said. 

Her mom glanced at the man again. “What monster?”

Pidge lifted her finger, fear filling her as she had to acknowledge him again, she had to show that she knew he was there.

She pointed directly at the man crouched beside her mom.

“Him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, if those last two lines hurt you, you're in for a lot of pain in the next chapter lol. But also fluff and sibling bonding. Lance will make Keith smile if he dies trying.
> 
> Yeah so the main emotional drive for the story is how fucked up it is that Pidge thinks Zarkon, the man who held her captive and emotionally abused her while also physically abusing his own son and killed his wife, is worse than Shiro, who has a heart of actual gold and only wants her to be safe. 
> 
> Erin has started watching the google doc that I type this up in as I work because she's so excited for this story, so I'll probably finish the next chapter tomorrow. If not for Erin, then for the people who read He Sleeps because holy shit I need to finish before friday if my plans are ever going to come true. But inspiration is a tricky thing lol. 
> 
> Anyway, see you next chapter! And bring tissues!


	3. Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thank you all for still being here lmao. It's been a bit. And by a bit I mean over a year and a half. I started this before season 2 came out lmfao. what happened to tomorrow Past-Jaden???
> 
> The main reason I was so late with this was that I got a concussion and took some recovery time before being able to start working on this again. It really screwed me up so if my writing ability has dropped any that's why. I can't really tell, but its been a year and I finally feel confident enough in my writing to actually work on and post this fic. Any feedback would be amazing!!
> 
> This is a warning to all that my fics are never finished until they say they are or I say they are! It may take forever but what can I say? I'm a triple major working two jobs with a new dog I only have time because I work a night desk. So updates are slow but coming. Not to mention I'm trying to learn how to write again. 
> 
> A lot of stuff has changed in canon since I started this, huh? But this fic only had a pinkie's worth of connection to canon so it's not like it matters anyway. Everything will go as originally planned. 
> 
> I think you might be able to tell the point at which I started to be done with the chapter. I wanted to just end it but more and more stuff kept popping up. I may go through and edit it tomorrow and repost it, but looking at my track record it's highly unlikely. This chapter has been in the works for a year and a half and I need to be DONE. So here you go lmao. 
> 
> Also I know practically nothing about Korean culture, and since Korean is a linguistic isolate like Japanese I didn't want to try to botch any grammar or anything so I just wrote the Korean in itallics lmao. If any Koreans read this and find fault with anything lmk and I will fix it but I tried the best I could using google alone. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all like it! Enjoy!

Zarkon had lied. 

He had lied to Pidge about not hurting her. He had lied about going to check on her mom. He had lied about her mom being dead. He had lied about Nara being his wife. He had lied about the monster finding her in the woods.

He had lied about protecting her from the monster.

The monster had burst in the door, and Zarkon had immediately dropped her. While her mom had been calling the police, the monster had fought Zarkon. 

The monster had won.

And now, here she was, sitting on her old bed in her old room inside the house where Pidge had thought her mother died. Where she had thought the monster killed her.

The monster was here.

Not in the room, but he was in the house. She could hear him talking with her mom, and with the police officer who had come when her mom had brought Pidge and Keith back from the hospital. She wanted to run, but she knew that he would catch her. 

Plus, she couldn’t leave Keith behind.

Pidge looked over her knees where they were drawn against her chest at Keith’s huddled figure on the opposite bed. 

Her mom and the monster hadn’t changed much in her room. During the three days Pidge and Keith spent at the hospital, they had pushed aside her toy chest to make room for another bed. Pidge didn’t know where they got it, but she didn’t really care.

Keith was leaning with his back against the wall, a Red Lion plush in his hands and his feet tucked beneath his butt on the bed. He was examining the toy, his fingers softly squishing the bright red fabric, his thumbs brushing the fur to draw patterns. 

Pidge watched him, trying to figure out what the light in his eyes meant. The muttered words from her mother’s voice began to drift through the walls, the bright timber cutting through the walls even as the monster’s was too low to make anything but a drone. 

“Thank you, Coran,” her mother said. “I really appreciate you looking after the boys as long as you have. I know you were supposed to relax this week, so this really means a lot.”

There was a pause. 

“No, really, if you don’t think you can...Yes. I think that would be best. They have apparently been playing for a week, so it would probably help...Alright. See you soon.”

There was the deep rumbling of the monster as Pidge heard a faint clicking. 

“I don’t know, Shiro. I just don’t know.”

The rumbling came again. Pidge could only make out Keith’s name from the noise.

“I think it would be best not to separate them. I think that’s best for all of them.”

The monster rumbled once more, then there was a long silence. Keith looked up from examining the lion, his eyebrows pinching as he looked at her face. He cocked his head like Lance always did. Pidge put her finger to her lips, motioning for him to be quiet. Keith’s eyes widened and he nodded, shifting to pull his knees to his chest to mirror Pidge as she strained to hear.

Her mother and the monster had stopped talking. After a few moments, the soft pad of her mother’s footsteps started down the hall toward her room. Pidge stiffened, worried the monster would be with her, but when the door opened her mother was alone. 

“Katie?” her mother said softly, swinging the door open slowly. She had that weird look in her eyes that had been there since Pidge had pointed out the monster. She glanced at Keith, who had stiffened on the bed, before slowly moving into the room. Gently, she pressed the door shut behind her. Pidge noticed that she had bandages in her hands.

“Keith?” her mother asked, voice soothing. 

Pidge felt her grip on her legs lessen slightly, watching as Keith’s hands slid down his legs. 

“I need to check your bandages, okay?” her mother said kindly, slowly walking towards Keith’s bed. “Will you let me?” 

Keith watched her for a moment. Her mother paused at the edge of the bed, careful not to crowd him. 

Keith locked eyes with Pidge. She nodded slightly. He extended his arm slowly to her mother, who took it gently. 

“Can I sit next to you?”

Keith nodded. Her mother gently sat down next to him, removing the bandages that lined his arms. Pidge watched as the bright red skin was exposed, watching her mother inspect the burns before applying medicine and wrapping it with fresh bandages. 

When she finished, Keith gave her his other arm, then let her check over his other wounds. As she worked, Keith slowly moved closer to her. Pidge watched.

Her mother put the last little metal bit in place on the bandages around his chest, gently helping him lower his shirt before slowly standing and approaching Pidge.

“I need to check yours, too. Is that okay?”

Pidge nodded, scooting slightly away from the wall to get closer to her. Her mother’s cool fingers brushed gently over her skin, the heat she didn’t even know she had fading when she did. Something in Pidge longed to grab the hand, to pull her mother down and to sit in her lap and let her mother’s skin make the tingling and burning go away. 

But she didn’t. She wasn’t sure why.

Her mother finished changing the bandages, gathering the dirty ones in one hand while her other hand came to rest on Pidge’s cheek. Her mother’s fingers covered her ear and pressed into her hair, her thumb tracing gentle lines over Pidge’s cheek. Pidge let her mother’s touch continue until she caught Keith’s eyes. 

She moved away.

Her mother’s eyebrows fell slightly, and the hand withdrew. The bed shifted as she stood. 

“Do you remember Lance and Hunk?” her mother asked. 

Pidge nodded, meeting her eyes.

Her mother paused, moving to look at them both. 

“They’ve been staying with their... _ your _ great uncle for the last few days.” Her mother locked eyes with Pidge before glancing over at Keith. “They’re headed back right now. Do you want them to stay out of your room, or do you want to see them?”

Pidge looked at Keith, seeing the longing in his eye.

“Keith wants to see them,” she said, her voice hurting. She paused. “I do, too.”

Her mother nodded. “I need to do a few things. I’ll send them in when they get here.” Her mother turned, opening the door. She paused, looking back over her shoulder.

“If you need anything, please let us know, okay? Dad and I can help.”

Pidge clenched her teeth as her mother left, knowing the monster could hear her if the door was open. 

The soft click of the door was the last sound for a while. Pidge glanced back over at Keith, noticing that he was staring at her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, even though it hurt.

Keith didn’t say anything, just watched her.

“Do you want to sit next to me?”

A pause. Then a nod. Pidge shifted to make room for him. He pressed heavily against her side, being careful of her broken rib and his own wounds. She felt him shiver slightly and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

“He doesn’t look that much like the monster you and Zarkon always talked about,” Keith said at last. 

“He looks just like I remember,” Pidge said.

“Has he always had one arm?”

“Since before I was born.”

“Allura is nice.”

Pidge pulls him closer, resting her chin on his head. She wasn’t used to his hair being so soft and clean. She likes it. 

“I wish mom was here,” Keith whispered. 

Pidge froze. She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. After a few moments he pressed closer against her. She felt his tears staining her shirt.

“I’m sorry,” Pidge said, pulling him as close as she could without hurting him. “Because of me, you’re stuck with the monster. Are you scared?”

She felt him shake his head.

“Zarkon was the worse monster.”

Pidge grit her teeth again. She didn’t agree. The monster was worse. He was so much worse. He had taken everything from her. He had taken her mother from her. He had taken her younger brothers from her. He had taken her home from her.

But she didn’t say anything. 

* * *

Eventually, Keith had retrieved the lion from his bed and brought it over to Pidge’s. They were leaning against each other when the front door slammed open. They both jumped, hearing the monster shouting and the sound of a voice they’d never heard entering the house. Pidge instantly pulled Keith closer to her side, wrapping her legs around him as he pressed hard against her.

Suddenly, the door opened. Keith and Pidge tensed. A small, brunet head stuck itself through the opening.

“You guys are okay!” Lance said, swinging the door open with excitement. Pidge felt Keith relax beside her. 

Lance bounded into the room, his eyes wide and a smile on his face.

“Uncle Coran told us that Mom and Dad came and saved you,” Lance said, voice loud. 

He stopped at the edge of the bed, leaning over slightly, but not reaching out to them. Pidge felt Keith leaning towards the other boy slightly. 

“He said you guys had been at the hospital, and that’s why we had to stay at Uncle Coran’s house the last few days.” Lance’s eyes were shining. “And then he said that you two would be living with us now!” 

Lance leaned closer, narrowing his eyes and speaking slightly softer. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

Keith shook his head. Pidge slid her arm back a little so that he could get closer.

“Permanent sleepover!” Lance screeched, throwing his arms up and jumping back from the bed.

Pidge felt Keith jump, but didn’t tighten her grip. She looked down to see that there was a small smile on his face. 

“Ow, Lance.” Pidge looked at the door to see Hunk rubbing his ear. “Don’t be so loud. Mom will get mad.”

“Sorry,” Lance said sheepishly, stepping back to the bed as Hunk came over. 

“It’s not a sleepover,” Pidge said. She pulled Keith closer again. “We’re being held hostage.”

“No you’re not.” Lance blinked at her. “You can’t be held hostage in your own house.”

“Keith was,” Pidge said. She felt Keith stiffen beside her. 

“I mean,” Hunk came to stand beside Lance, his eyes wide, “yeah, but not anymore. Mom and Dad came and saved you. Now you get to live with us.”

“ _ Have _ to.” Pidge ground out. 

Lance cocked his head. “Do you not want to be here?”

“No.” Pidge pulled Keith back, feeling him resist her but winning in strength. “I don’t want to live with the monster. I want to go back.”

“To Zarkon?” Hunk put his hands on the bed, leaning forward. 

Pidge didn’t answer.

“You can’t really think that Zarkon is better than Dad.” Lance leaned forward, too, but didn’t put his hands on the bed. “Zarkon was horrible! He hurt you both so bad! He almost killed Keith!”

“The monster almost killed you.” Pidge felt Keith stiffen at her side.

Lance and Hunk both froze. Then, Lance’s eyes flashed.

“No he didn’t!” Lance shouted, leaning forward again. This time he did put his hands on the blankets. Pidge and Keith both flinched, and Lance backed off slightly.

“Dad was just having one of his nightmares,” Lance hissed, though it was more for volume than anger’s sake. “Mom told us. She said Dad had one of those nightmares where he thinks he’s in the past again and he accidentally hit her. But Mom was okay! It was just a nosebleed! Hunk and I have gotten them tons of times. They aren’t that bad.”

“Keith has had tons of nosebleeds, too.” Pidge narrowed her eyes. “And all of those were because of Zarkon.”

Lance’s mouth snapped shut. But his eyes still glowed and sparked. 

Pidge met his eyes unblinkingly. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Pidge could see Hunk looking between his two siblings. She could feel Keith pulling against her, but she didn’t let him go.

Eventually, some of the light in Lance’s eyes dimmed. He sighed, relaxing and glancing down to Keith. 

Pidge was confused. 

“I guess you guys  _ did _ just get here,” Lance said slowly, sinking down to his knees. He laid his head on his arms, looking up at both of them. “I’ll let it slide for now, but stop calling Dad a monster. He’s our dad, too. It makes Hunk sad.”

“Hey!” Hunk said, his face turning red. “It makes you sad, too!”

“Where did you find the Red Lion?” Lance asked, looking at Keith. Hunk huffed but sank beside his brother.

_ My brother _ , Pidge thought.

Keith paused, then shifted to point towards the opposite wall. 

Lance followed his finger with his eyes. “Why were you in my room?”

Keith pulled his arm back, curling around the toy in his hands. 

“I’m not gonna take it,” Lance said. “The Red Lion’s your favorite character, right? You can have her.”

Keith looked up, his body tightening in a way Pidge hadn’t felt in a long time. From the corner of her eye, Pidge could see Keith’s smile.

Lance blinked, then smiled back wider than Pidge had seen before.

Uncle Coran told her later that it was called a grin.

* * *

“Keith,” Pidge’s mom said, setting a plate down on the table in front of Pidge and Hunk, “do you want to meet your grandmother?”

Keith looked up, blinking in the morning light at Pidge’s mom, his toast stopping halfway to his mouth. A few moments passed and Keith glanced at Pidge before nodding slowly. 

Pidge’s mom gave a slow smile. “If it’s alright with you, Shiro and I want to fly her to meet you.”

“Fly her?” Lance asked loudly, crumbs flying from his mouth. “Is she a bird?”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Pidge’s mom said, pointing a finger in Lance’s direction. “And no. Keith’s grandma lives in South Korea, so she has to fly in an airplane.”

“What’s that?” Hunk asked, waiting to take a bite of toast until after he asked the question. 

“It’s a country,” Pidge’s mom said. She picked up a towel from the counter, trapping Lance’s face between her fingers and wiping the jelly from his nose as she answered Hunk. “It’s across the ocean from us, so the best way to get from here to there is to fly in an airplane.”

“Like Cuba!” Lance said excitedly. 

Pidge’s mom smiled. “Kinda, but waaaaaaay farther.”

Pidge looked at Keith, seeing his eyebrows low. 

Pidge’s mom leaned down, resting her arms on the table and letting her long hair fall from her shoulders, and smiling kindly at him. “Would that be okay?”

Keith glanced at Pidge.

“Which grandma is it?” Pidge asked.

Pidge’s mom looked at her and blinked. Another expression Pidge couldn’t identify spread across her face before she turned back to Keith. “It would be your mother’s mom.” 

Keith paused, looking up at Pidge’s mom. He cocked his head a bit before nodding slowly. 

“Alright,” Pidge’s mom said, leaning back off the table. “We’ll invite her over, then.”

“Why does Keith’s grandma live in South Korea if Keith lives here?” Hunk asked. 

Pidge’s mom glanced at Keith before slowly responding. “Well, from what the police and Keith’s grandmother have told us, Keith’s mom moved to America to go to school.”

“Do they not have schools in South Korea?” Lance asked.

“No, they have schools,” Pidge’s mom said. “But sometimes people go to other countries so they can learn. Some countries offer different opportunities and have different teachers who have different knowledge.”

“That’s exactly correct, Katie.” Pidge’s mom’s voice sounded weird, but when Pidge looked at her her face only contained a smile. Pidge’s mom turned back to the boys. “Your grandfather came here for school, just like Keith’s mom did.”

“Is that why Cousin Nyma and Cousin Rollo still live in Cuba?” Hunk asked.

“Yep!” Pidge’s mom moved to the end of the table, pulling the seat out before sitting between Hunk and Pidge. “Speaking of which, your Uncle Luis wants us to visit later this year. I was thinking we could bring Katie along this time.” She looked at Pidge, her eye’s sparkling slightly. “Would you want to go with us?”

Pidge stopped chewing. “I don’t want to go if the monster goes.”

The room got very quiet. Pidge’s mom frowned. Hunk paused in his eating, his eyes watching her in a way she didn’t really like. Lance froze, his eyes wide on her. 

Beside her, Keith shrank in his seat, his toast all but abandoned on his plate. 

Pidge’s mom sighed. “Katie, sweetie,” she began, her voice soft and eyes watching Katie, a strange hardness to them, “I’m not going to get mad at you for speaking of your father that way. He scared you, and he made you worry that he had hurt your brothers and I. But it makes us sad when you call him that.” Pidge’s mom leaned forward. “He didn’t mean to hurt us,” she said, her voice soft but strong, a tone she had never heard before. “He was only trying to get away from the things that scared him, just like you did when you ran away from the house. It’s not your fault you were scared of him, right?”

Pidge paused, then slowly nodded.

“It’s not Dad’s fault he got scared, either.” Pidge’s mom sat back, giving Pidge back the space she didn’t want. “These past five years he has been searching for you, just like I have been. So please, can you at least  _ try _ to start forgiving him?” 

Pidge thought about it. The idea of forgiving the monster, the thing that had driven her away from her family, made her stomach hurt. She looked at her mom, and saw a light she hadn’t ever seen before. She didn’t know what it meant.

“I will,” she lied.

* * *

Pidge’s mom was on the phone that night. Pidge assumed it was to talk to Keith’s grandma. She wasn’t sure how she was able to, since Nara had told her that no one in her family spoke English. Pidge didn’t think her mom spoke any Korean, either. 

“Y-yes,” Pidge’s mom said, pulling the phone close to her body. There was a pause. “We understand. We would prefer it happen sooner rather than later.” Another pause. The other person talked a lot. “We’re willing to house him until then. He and Katie have grown up together.” This time, Pidge could almost hear the other person talking. “I think so, too.”

Pidge’s mom turned, then saw them standing there. Her eyes widened, and she turned and pulled the phone closer to her mouth. “Let us know if anything changes.” 

After a moment, Pidge’s mom hung up. She turned back to them, her smile wobbly. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s going to take a while for your grandmother to be able to come here. She got hurt recently, and we have to wait for her to heal before she can come by.” 

Keith had stood beside Pidge as she watched her mom on the phone. He hadn’t said anything, not even in that quiet way he tried sometimes to tell her things. He had simply looked at Pidge’s mom, his eyes blank.

She’d never seen them look like that. 

* * *

“You use this button to open Netflix,” Hunk said, holding the black remote in his hand. “We’re allowed to watch whatever we want as long as we only use the Kid’s profile.”

“What’s Netflix?” Pidge asked. 

“It’s got a bunch of shows and stuff on it,” Hunk said. “But most importantly, it’s got the entire Voltron series.”

Keith suddenly appeared at her shoulder, his eyes shining. 

“Keeee-eeeeeith” Lance whined from behind the couch “I was about to win!”

“You never win Guess Who, Lance,” Hunk said. He turned to Keith. “Do you wanna watch with us?”

Keith nodded his head so fast Pidge thought he was going to break his neck.

Hunk laughed. “Alright!” He turned back to the TV. Keith walked around the couch and seated himself in Pidge’s lap. “Alright...season one, episode one. Here we go!”

“Lance!” their mom called from the kitchen. Her figure appeared in the doorway. Her hair was pulled up, and she had some white stuff on her cheek. “Would you mind helping me? I need my famous potato masher.” 

“But Keith and I were playing a game…” Lance flopped his arms over the back of the couch. 

“You can keep playing your game after dinner buddy,” their mom smiled. “Help me mash the potatoes and then you and your brother can switch out.”

Lance lifted his head. “Do I get dibbs when it’s dinner time?”

“On the mashed potatoes, yes.”

“Alright!” Lance said, then bounded into the kitchen.

The room got quiet again. The TV was the only thing making noises anymore.

“Why does Lance mash potatoes?”

Hunk looked over at Pidge, something hse had some to identify as ‘surprise’ on his face. “Because he’s not good at anything else.”

“Then what do you do in the kitchen?”

Hunk smiled, one side going up higher than the other. He put one hand against his chin and tilted his head and body. 

Pidge had no idea what he was doing. 

“Well you see, Pidge,” Hunk said, his voice weird. “Unlike our brother,  _ I  _ actually have taste buds and can use them.”

Pidge paused. “What are taste buds?”

Hunk’s eyes opened, his body going stiff. “They’re the stuff on your tongue.” He said, straightening his body. “The bumpy stuff.” He stuck his tongue out, pointing to it. “Liith hee.”

Pidge cocked her head. “And you...taste with them?”

“We all do!” Hunk said. “Didn’t you ever wonder how you could taste?”

“Not really,” Pidge said. “I was more focused on-”

Keith cut her off by jabbing her in the ribs with his elbow. She looked at him, and saw him looking angrily at her. 

“Keith wants us to stop talking and watch,” she translated for her brother. 

“Good choice,” Hunk said, turning his body forward again. He was smiling. “This is the good part.”

* * *

They had watched for a while, Keith tensing and jumping as things happened. Hunk and Lance had switched partway through the second episode. He kept explaining things that Pidge thought were obvious. Unlike her and Hunk, Keith never had her tell him to stop. 

Eventually their mom had come in and told them it was time for dinner. As they ate, Pidge thought about what Hunk had said. She pushed her food around in her mouth with her tongue, testing. She opened her mouth, and pushed it around with her finger.

“Katie,” their mom said. “Don’t eat with your mouth open. It’s impolite.” 

Pidge continued the rest of her experiments with her lips sealed. 

* * *

“ _ It’s nice to meet you, _ ” the woman on the screen said. “ _ I’m Hwaja, your Grandmother. How are you doing?” _

Keith didn’t respond. Hwaja shifted slightly. 

“Keith,” Mom said. “Did you understand what she said?”

Keith nodded. He took Pidge’s hand from where it was wrapped around his waist. He had refused to sit in front of the computer without being in her lap.

“Would you be comfortable answering her?”

Keith stared at the screen. Pidge didn’t know what his face meant.

“ _ Do you not understand me? _ ” Hwaja said. Her face looked sad. “ _ If you understand me, won’t you at least give me a signal? _ ”

Slowly, Keith nodded. The woman on screen straightened.

“ _ So your mother  _ did _ teach you,” _ she said, smiling. “ _ Are you well? _ ”

Keith didn’t answer. Hwaja frowned. 

“ _ Why aren’t you speaking, dear? _ ”

“Keith,” Mom asked. “Are you okay?” She leaned over the chair, her hand on the back. He looked concerned.

Keith looked at her, distress clear in his eyes.

“He doesn’t like talking to adults, Mom,” Pidge said. 

Mom blinked. “Can’t he at least say hello to his Grandma?” She looked to Keith. “Please, baby. Won’t you at least say ‘hi’? It’s just one word. You don’t have to talk after that.”

Keith shook his head. 

The woman on the screen was studying them. She sighed, then looked down. 

“ _ I knew I should have asked the neighbor to translate _ ,” she said. Pidge figured it was to herself.

“Why don’t you talk to her?” Pidge said, looking up at Mom. “Why does Keith need to talk?”

“Because this lady is his family,” Mom said. “And if Keith wants to, he can go live with her.”

“No!” Keith yelled. His body jumped, and his eyes blew wide. “Don’t take Pidge away!”

Keith stopped, beginning to shrink back into Pidge.

Mom’s face was surprised. It occured to Pidge that she hadn’t heard him speak before. “Keith, you don’t have to. It’s only if you want.”

“ _ What’s happening? _ ” The woman on the screen was straighter, her face worried. “ _ Keith, what’s going on? _ ”

Mom looked at the screen. “Biscuits. I knew we should have gotten a translator.” Mom straightened, coming around the chair to kneel in front of them. “Please, Keith,” she asked again, her voice softer. “She’s worried. Can you tell her what’s going on?”

Pidge cocked (Hunk had told her the word) her head. “Can’t you tell her?”

Mom blinked. “I can’t speak Korean, sweetie. Otherwise I would.”

“Oh.” Pidge hadn’t realized. She thought everyone could use the two voices.

“ _ He doesn’t like talking to adults _ ,” Pidge said to the lady on the screen. “ _ Mom told him he could live with you and he got scared because he doesn’t want to be away from me. _ ”

Hwaja and Mom both blinked, their faces surprised.

Mom put her hand on her forehead, closing her eyes. “Of course if Keith can speak Korean so can you. You were raised together.”

“ _ Su-jin taught you Korean? _ ” the lady on the screen said, her voice softer. 

“ _ Who’s that? _ ” Pidge asked.

“ _ Keith’s mother,” _ Hwaja said. “ _ My daughter. _ ”

“ _ Oh _ ,” Pidge said. “ _ I thought her name was Nara. _ ”

“ _ That was the name she used while she was away for school _ ,” Hwaja said. She was smiling now. “ _ She said it was some sort of inside joke. She never told me what it was.”  _ Hwaja stopped. Her eyes got darker.

“ _ I’m sorry for asking someone so young, _ ” she said, slowly. “ _ But Su-jin...is she really gone? _ ”

Pidge didn’t know what that meant.

“Hey Mom?” Pidge asked. 

“Yes honey?”

“Is Nara gone?” 

Mom stopped. “Did she ask you that?”

“She wants to know if Nara’s ‘really gone.’ I don’t understand what she means.”

Mom looked sad. “Tell her yes,” she said. “Tell her Nara’s really gone. And that I’m sorry.”

“ _ Mom say’s she’s gone, _ ” Pidge told the lady on the screen. “ _ And also to tell you that she’s sorry. _ ”

Hwaja’s face looked just like mom’s. Pidge didn’t understand.

“ _ I see…” _

Hwaja shook herself slightly, smiling again. “ _ Since you can speak Korean, would you mind helping me convince my grandson to talk to me?” _

Pidge looked at Keith, who had loosened up a little and was leaning against her. He was still watching the screen. 

“ _ He doesn’t like talking all that much, _ ” she said.

Hwaja cocked her head. “ _ And why’s that? _ ”

“ _ Talking means people can find you, _ ” Pidge said. 

Hwaja’s eyes widened. “ _ He’s still that scared? _ ”

Keith pressed back farther against Pidge.

“ _ Yes. _ ”

Keith squeezed her hand. 

“ _ But he won’t be soon. He doesn’t want to be anymore.” _

Hwaja looked sad again. She focused on Keith. 

“ _ You don’t need to be anymore, my love.” _ Keith stiffened. Nara had called him that, too. “ _ You’re safe now. The people with you will keep you safe. And soon, I will be there with you, and we’ll all be safe together.” _

Keith looked at Pidge, his eyes shining. 

She didn’t want to say it. It was going to get him hurt. But he was asking her. She had always been his voice.

She turned back to the woman on the screen, her jaw tightening without her trying to. 

“ _ He knows. He trusts them.” _

Keith frowned at her, but she wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t say it out loud.

The woman on the screen started talking again, her face smiling. Mom still sat at their feet, but she got more comfortable, sitting so that she would be able to watch the screen and Keith and Pidge at the same time. So Pidge let the words fall, and didn’t speak them. She couldn’t speak them. Because they were based on lies. But she still couldn’t stop thinking them in her head. 

_ He trusts them. He trusts them  _ all _. _

Pidge ground her teeth. 

_ Even the Monster. _

* * *

Somehow, Pidge’s new backyard looked very different from Zarkon’s. And also very different from how Pidge remembered it. It as big and green. The grass was weirdly soft. There was more space between the house and the edge of the woods. And there was a big wooden...thing in the middle of it now.

“So you’re saying you don’t know what a jungle gym is?” Hunk asked.

“No.” Jungle...gym? Why would a gym be called a jungle if it was in a yard.

“Well I mean, that’s what this is called so...now you do?” Hunk’s voice had gotten higher near the end for some reason. He was poking his fingers together. Pidge didn’t know why.

“What do you...do on it?”

“You climb,” Hunk said. “You climb to the top and make a base. Or make it a pirate ship! Lance really likes pirates, so Dad put a pirate steering wheel at the top so it’s easier to pretend.”

“Steering wheel?” 

“Yeah it’s that thing adults use to drive cars and stuff.” Hunk said. “You can also hang from the monkey bars, but they kinda hurt my fingers after a while. I really like the slide.”

“...Slide?”

Hunk turned to her. “You don’t know what a slide is?”

“It’s a word about doing something,” Pidge said. “How can an action be on a thing?”

“No a slide is a thing you sit on that you ride down to get to the bottom of the jungle gym.”

“Why can’t you just...walk or climb down.”

Hunk’s face flattened. “Just come with me.”

Pidge followed him to the ‘jungle gym’. He climbed up a few sets of ladders, and then they were in a large wooden area. Hunk pointed towards a hole in the wall. It was green and dark.

“This is a slide. Watch me, I’m gonna go down first. Then you do the same and follow me.” 

Hunk sat down, sliding his feet into the hole. He put his hands on the top, lifting his butt and setting it on the plastic. Then he let go, and fell down the hole. 

Pidge ran up to the hole. Had he fallen in?

“Hunk?” she called down the hole. 

“I’m down here!” Pidge looked through the spaces in the wood to see Hunk standing at the bottom of the tube he had gone down. His hair was sticking up weird. “Come on! It’s fun! Dad checked it for wasps yesterday so it’s safe!”

...Wasps???

“I don’t know, Hunk,” Pidge said, looking into the hole. 

“It’s fine, I promise.” Hunk’s voice echoed a little in the tube. “I’m scared of a lot of things. I used to be scared of slides, too. But I’m not scared at all now! They’re super fun!”

Pidge paused, staring into the hole. 

“Do you trust me?”

Pidge blinked. She looked back down at Hunk. He was smiling at her. 

“I promise it will be okay. You can trust me on that. Do you?”

Pidge paused, thinking. She nodded. 

Hunk grinned. “Then come down! I’ll be at the bottom!”

Pidge was still for a second, then started getting into position. She sat down, scooting forward until her feet were in the tube. She Put her hands on the top of the tube, lifting her butt and putting it on the plastic. She paused again, hesitating.

“Come on, Pidge!” Hunk’s voice echoed through the tube again. 

Pidge let go.

Hunk was right. It was really fun. 

* * *

Pidge had a feeling that the Monster was avoiding her. 

She hadn’t seen him in a while, only heard his footsteps in the hallway or his voice when he talked with Mom and his laugh when he was with Lance and Hunk. Keith seemed bothered by it, though. 

“Doesn’t it make you sad?” he asked. “He’s ignoring you.”

“Would you have been sad if Zarkon had avoided you?” Pidge replied. She didn’t look up from her book. It was about computers. She liked it. 

“That’s different,” Keith said. 

“Maybe to you,” Pidge said, “but not to me. You weren’t there when he hurt Mom.”

Keith was quiet for a moment. 

“You weren’t there when Zarkon hurt me.”

It had been very quiet. Pidge looked up, but Keith was just staring at the Red Lion plush. 

“I could hear it,” Pidge said.

“It’s not the same.”

Pidge stared at him for a long time. 

“Why does it matter if I like him or not? It’s not like he’s  _ your _ dad.”

Keith looked up sharply, his eyes hard in a way she had never seen from him before. “He saved you, Pidge.” His eyes widened, and he looked down again. “He saved both of us. We would have died.”

“We never died before,” Pidge said, turning back to her book. 

There was a slam. She looked up sharply, but Keith was already getting up off the bed.

“I’m sleeping with Lance tonight,” Keith said. The Red Lion was in his hand. He opened the door.

Pidge didn’t think of anything to say until he had already closed it. 

* * *

“I promise Keith, it’s safe.”

Pidge looked up from where she and Hunk were reading on the grass.

“Zarkon’s in jail,” Lance said, twisting to see Keith’s face. Keith was clinging tightly to Lance’s back, his arms circling Lances chest. It was stupid because Lance was smaller than Keith. Pidge thought it was better for him to hide behind her since she was bigger. 

“Have you ever heard of someone breaking out of jail before?” Lance continued. 

After a moment, Keith shook his head. 

“Exactly.” Lance faced forward, starting to pull Keith’s hands off his waist. “Plus, Mom and Dad are watching us and they’ll come running as soon as we need. She just has stuff to do in her office.” Lance was able to break Keith’s grip and turned to face him, holding his hands.

“I promise it’s safe,” Lance said. “Do you trust me?”

Pidge frowned. He was doing it wrong. 

Keith nodded. Something sharp stabbed Pidge, but only a little. She didn’t know what it was, but it was somewhere in her chest. 

Lance turned back to the yard, his hand on Keith’s, pulling him forward. 

Keith took shaky steps, but he followed Lance out. Pidge looked down at her book and kept reading. 

The book was interesting. It didn’t have as many pictures as the ones before, but she found she kind of liked it that way. It was about a princess who had to save the kingdom using math. At first it was simple stuff, like addition and subtraction and multiplication, but recently she had gotten to the point where the princess had to use division. Pidge wasn’t sure the princess would be okay.

“Keith?” Mom’s voice pulled Pidge out of her book. She looked up, and saw mom and the monster standing in the doorway. Mom’s mouth was open, and the monster’s eyes were wide. Pidge followed their eyes and saw Lance help Keith climb the jungle gym. (Pidge still thought it was a dumb name). 

“You’re...outside…” Mom’s voice was weird. She walked over to the jungle gym. The monster followed shortly behind. Keith and Lance stopped at the top and waited for them. “Sorry we weren’t here when you first came out, sweetheart. If I had known you were ready we would have come down.”

Keith pulled slightly on Lance’s shirt. Lance looked at him for a second before smiling. 

“It’s okay mom! Keith know’s I’ll keep him safe!”

Pidge ground her teeth hard. Something heavy was in her stomach, and her cheeks burned. 

She didn’t know what the feeling meant. 

* * *

“Pidge?”

Pidge turned so she was facing Keith. His eyes were opened and staring at her. 

“I don’t think what you remember was right.”

“What do you mean?” Pidge asked.

“You said the monster was scary,” he said. “You said he was mean and nasty, more than Zarkon.”

“He is. You just haven’t seen it yet.” 

Keith frowned. “Lance said that the monster just gets scared. That he went through terrible things like we did, and sometimes he thinks he’s back there. He said that he’s had to help the monster remember where he was, but that the monster never hurt him.”

“He was probably just lying to you to get you to feel better,” Pidge said. Something in her chest hurt. 

“Your mom said that sometimes people don’t remember things right when they’re scared.” Keith looked at her, and Pidge felt like she needed to hide. “I think that when the monster scared you you forgot what he was really like.”

“I didn’t!” Pidge said, sitting up quickly. Her fists were clenched, and she grit her teeth. “You have no idea what it was like!”

Slowly, Keith sat up. He looked tired, and sad. 

“It makes your family sad when you call him the monster,” Keith said. 

“So what?” Pidge said angrily. She didn’t know why he didn’t see it. Why he didn’t see the lies for what they were. “A lot of things make a lot of people sad.”

Keith was quiet for a moment.

“I don’t think I’m going to call him the monster anymore,” he said finally.

Something in Pidge’s back froze. She wasn’t sure what. 

“Lance said he would help me talk to him,” Keith said. He looked at her in that way she hated again. “I’m going to find a new name for him. One that fits better.”

No. No no no. This couldn’t be happening, could it? She had been safe. She had kept her distance. But Lance had somehow convinced Keith that the monster was okay. That the monster was safe. 

Keith laid back down, pulling the sheet back up. 

“Good night, Pidge,” Keith said. Pidge couldn’t swallow. “I love you.”

Pidge wanted to run away again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so like in case you were wondering the titles are about what they find? So Friends was about Pidge and Keith finding friends. Family was obvi about finding her family. This one was about Keith getting two more siblings. 
> 
> I say this because the next chapter title will fuck you up. This might have been obvious, but I often don't look at chapter titles lmao. 
> 
> I hope you liked the chapter! I worked really hard to make sure it was cute and fluffy. The next chapter will cost you thousands of dollars in dental fees tho. Erin cried. 
> 
> See you next chapter!!


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